Gone are the times when ‘survival of the fittest’ used to be merely an evolutionary theory. Amidst fresh launches, new products and changing demands of a dynamic market, the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry realises the importance of survival every single day, and how definition of ‘fitness’ can change overnight.

With fifty one million smartphone users, over 800 television channels and at last count, about 350,000 stock keeping units (SKU) in the retail shelves, how does a brand manage to stand out? With more and more products being advertised across the country’s growing media, the average Indian consumer sees over 3000 marketing messages per day. At the same time, while economic growth in India is still strong by global standards, it has considerably slowed. This has driven marketing budgets down across FMCG, challenging marketers to think differently.

The 3R Strategy

To get the right messages to the right audiences and drive sales, the “Three R” framework of Reach, Resonance and Reaction is an effective way to evaluate your marketing and sales initiatives.

REACH: Reach is all about ensuring your campaign reaches the desired audience, an audience that you eventually want to convert into your consumers. It is also about ensuring you are placed in the right outlets to give you the desired reaction.

RESONANCE: Resonance is the pointer that indicates whether or not the campaign message was able to hit the right chords with the audience. It finds out about the consumer influence and determines if the campaign was helpful enough to improve brand recognition in the market.

REACTION: Reaction is the end result of any marketing campaign. It evaluates how reach and resonance affects consumers and influences their purchase decisions.

Media and retail stores being the two important podiums to drive advertisement messages, marketers can weigh the right amount of reach and resonance to draw out desirable reaction from the consumers. Though reaction lies at the end of the process, it is the primary objective that drives every marketing campaign.

The End Result – Reaction

Reviewing performance is not only essential to determine success of a campaign, but also helpful for future planning. Apart from market share, Return on Investment (ROI) is the one significant yardstick for measuring audience reaction. And therefore, the synergy of marketing efforts through multiple media channels and retail stores is the key to ensure optimal impact.